Peter Gallagher
TVWBB Wizard
Hope everyone’s been well – I was at the store 2 weeks ago – the Friday after everyone actually begun to take the virus seriously – By the time I got there, the meat aisle had been pretty much decimated – there was only a couple of random cuts left. However, there was an exception. I spotted 5 or 6 really nice-looking brisket flats. I guess people don’t hoard briskets during pandemics. I wasn’t thinking brisket when I walked in, but called the audible and picked out a nice one.
I’m not huge brisket guy, but I do love pastrami so I thought I’d go for it……
View attachment 1879
I made the corning brine – I like to boil the water and make sort of a tea. I let the brine cool in the fridge, and then submerged the meat. Based on weight and thickness, I was going to give it 12 days in the brine…
It was nice looking - it weighed in at 8.9 pounds....
Into the fridge:
Fast forward to this past Friday. I drained and cleaned it, and then back in cold water for another 24 hours – the desalination process is crucial - I skipped this step once many moons ago, and the result was more of a salt lick than a pastrami.
I was curious, so I weighed it – It had picked up almost 10% - Seemed about right . I then seasoned it up.....
getting things going.....
....and stuck on the smoker at about 10:30 PM Saturday........ real smoking action shot!
I took a look around 10:30 AM and it looked like this: It had just got pass the stall and was about 165 degrees.
It took another 2.5 hours - then I implemented the Chris foil / towel wrap / cooler method and let it rest for a couple of hours.
not too shabby!
and plated..... oh yea, no rye bread at the store...had to go with some hoagie rolls - be safe everyone!
I’m not huge brisket guy, but I do love pastrami so I thought I’d go for it……
View attachment 1879
I made the corning brine – I like to boil the water and make sort of a tea. I let the brine cool in the fridge, and then submerged the meat. Based on weight and thickness, I was going to give it 12 days in the brine…
It was nice looking - it weighed in at 8.9 pounds....
Into the fridge:
Fast forward to this past Friday. I drained and cleaned it, and then back in cold water for another 24 hours – the desalination process is crucial - I skipped this step once many moons ago, and the result was more of a salt lick than a pastrami.
I was curious, so I weighed it – It had picked up almost 10% - Seemed about right . I then seasoned it up.....
getting things going.....
....and stuck on the smoker at about 10:30 PM Saturday........ real smoking action shot!
I took a look around 10:30 AM and it looked like this: It had just got pass the stall and was about 165 degrees.
It took another 2.5 hours - then I implemented the Chris foil / towel wrap / cooler method and let it rest for a couple of hours.
not too shabby!
and plated..... oh yea, no rye bread at the store...had to go with some hoagie rolls - be safe everyone!